Arqiva Taps Ex-UKTV COO, John Keeling, as Platform Controller for its New VOD Service

Arqiva--the broadcast transmission company which recently acquired the platform assets of Project Kangaroo, the VOD platform developed by UKVOD, a joint venture between the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and terrestrial broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4, for a price believed to be in the £8 million range (note: Project Kangaroo was believed to be close to launch, when it was nixed in February by the Competition Commission, an independent public body that investigates mergers, markets and regulated industries at the UK government's behest), and which has announced plans to use those platform assets to launch a new, Web-based, consumer-facing VOD service to UK consumers in the coming months, that will offer both free and paid content, including "top-end quality content from leading broadcasters and independent content providers"--announced last week that it has appointed former UKTV controller and COO, John Keeling, as platform controller for its planned VOD service. He will be responsible for overseeing all programming and marketing functions for the service, including brand development and content supply, and will also be responsible for appointing key programming and marketing staff for the service, Arqiva says.

Keeling served as COO of UKTV, a joint venture between the BBC and Virgin Media, from 2001 to 2007, and sat on the boards of both UKTV and BBC Vision. He was subsequently brought in by ITV, BSkyB, Discovery Networks and the BBC, Arqiva says, to strategize, devise and implement executive-level organizational and personal development programs. He began his broadcasting career with the launch of MTV Europe in 1987, and then spent a six-year stint at Sky, where he was responsible for the company's movie channels. He will report to Pierre-Jean Sebert, who was recently appointed CEO of the Arqiva VOD venture. "I am delighted to have persuaded John Keeling to join this business," Sebert said in a prepared statement. "He has a unique track record in launching and managing multichannel television brands in the UK and understands the British audience as well as anyone in the business."‪ Added Keeling: "I am delighted to accept this role in the rapidly expanding online TV sector. This feels very much like the new frontier in the same way as multichannel did when I first joined Sky 20 years ago."

According to as-yet unconfirmed reports in the UK press, Arqiva has signed content deals for the new VOD service with the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and with Channel 4.